


Getting to Know You

by lunarlychallenged



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: F/M, getting to know you games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 04:43:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14908559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarlychallenged/pseuds/lunarlychallenged
Summary: When the teacher decides to do a getting to know you project instead of a game, you learn a little more about how Jared imagines his future.





	Getting to Know You

“I’m sure,” your teacher said on the first day of class, “that all of you have gotten tired of getting-to-know-you games. We may as well skip them in my class.”

You grinned, nudging Jared’s foot under the table. He had ranted through lunch about how annoying those games were. “We already know those kids,” he said through a mouthful of peanut butter and jelly. “I don’t want to get to know them anymore. Why play the same games with the same kids, every semester?”

“Still, I do want to get to know all of you,” the teacher said with a practiced smile. A smile that tried and failed to convince you that the teacher would remember you a year after graduation, when you all knew for certain that he would forget the vast majority. “Let’s skip right into the assignment. I want all of you to make a PowerPoint of what you think the rest of your life will be like. You can use pictures, songs, poetry - anything you want. Follow your dreams. Tell me the story of your life.”

Jared nudged you back. You heard him start to hum the One Direction song, and you scowled. The day had taken a downhill plunge.

 

 

“I can’t do this assignment,” you said. You were sitting in Jared’s car, eating fast food that you didn’t want because it meant you could put off homework that was even worse.

“You gotta,” Jared said. He took a long drink from his milkshake.

You ignored him. “I am a mere fetus. I can’t plan out the rest of my life.”

“You don’t have to take it seriously,” he scoffed. “Make stuff up. Marry a celebrity. Be the next Crocodile Hunter. Write unrealistic fanfiction about your life, Y/N, Jesus.”

You paused. That wasn’t a terrible idea. It didn’t have to be about your goals. When the teacher told you to follow your dreams, he didn’t say they had to be your goals. These could be your wildest dreams; your fantasies.

“Besides,” he continued. “This is better than two truths and a lie, right?”

You nodded. It really was. Games like that always made you realize how boring your life was. When you said so to Jared, he snorted.

“Say that you go out for pizza at 3 AM with your best friend. That your best friend is the only thing that makes life worthwhile. That you are madly in love with him.”

“Which one is the lie?” You nudged him, teasing him in the hopes that he wouldn’t be able to hear your heart race. It was stupid to think that he could, but it was deafening for you.

“The latest we’ve gotten pizza is at 2,” he said, and swatted at you when you stole one of his fries.

 

 

The two of you sat together on the love seat in his basement as you worked on the presentations. It was the best seat in the room, and you both knew it, so neither of you wanted to sit on the fraying, sagging couch. There had been a scuffle for the chair, ending with Jared sitting in the center while you sat sideways, legs going over his. The two of you always fought for the chair, and the two of you always shared it in the end. You sometimes thought that the fighting was so neither of you seemed too eager to share.

The project was more fun now that you weren’t taking it seriously. It was nice to swap ideas, each one more ridiculous than the last.

“I’m gonna badly photoshop my face onto Willy Wonka.”

“You know how Spencer would pretend to be a baby on iCarly? That’s what I’m using for my kid.”

“My death slide is going to be that Tumblr post talking about playing the jack-in-a-box music during my funeral.”

You had taken Katniss and Peeta’s wedding picture and put your face over Katniss’, making sure to do it as badly as possible. You frowned at Peeta. Keep his face, or choose somebody else’s? 

You glanced up at Jared. Would it be funny to use his face? Pathetic? Embarrassing? The two of you did everything together, so maybe people would see it as a friend-joke. On the other hand, the two of you did everything together, so maybe people would take it as a declaration of love.

You had imagined declaring your love to Jared many times, and this was not how you wanted him to figure it out.

Jared looked up at you, so you reached into the pack of Oreos on the arm of the chair to cover for yourself. You had been staring at him for a lot longer than you needed to. “Hey, Jared?”

“What?” His eyes were slightly glazed with concentration as they flickered across his laptop.

“How do you imagine your wedding?”

He shifted his laptop to show you. “I’m using this picture of Steve Buscemi as the priest -”

“No, I’m serious. When you imagine your wedding, what’s it like?”

He blinked at you. “I don’t imagine my wedding. What kind of sap do you think I am, Y/N?” You might have believed him, if he hadn’t pushed his glasses up. 

Fine. If he wasn’t going to talk about it, you would draw it out. “I picture your wedding as a costume wedding. The wedding party is in Mario garb - you’re Mario, of course, and the bride is Peach. The best man is Luigi, and so on. Your wedding ring is engraved with ‘It’s a-me, Mario!’”

Jared was laughing by the end of your mental image. “That’s exactly how I want it. How’d you know?”

“I’m a Jared expert,” you said matter-of-factly. You smiled at him. “I just hope I get to see it. It’ll be so fun.”

“Of course you’ll get to see it,” he scoffed. “You’re gonna be in my wedding party.”

“Yeah?”

“Sure. You’ll either be the bride or the best woman. Duh.”

Your smile froze. “Really?”

He gave a nervous laugh. “God, Y/N, get with the times. I can have a best woman if I want.”

“Or me as a bride?”

He studiously observed his laptop screen. “I haven’t ruled that out.”

You grinned at him, but he didn’t look up. “I haven’t ruled that out either.”

His head whipped up fast enough that you expected his glasses to fly off. “Really?”

You shrugged, but your smile ruined the carefree movement of it. You didn’t look casual at all - you were glowing. “Well, we still haven’t gone out for pizza at 3, so we already know what my lie was.”

Jared leaned over to you and kissed you, one hand cupping the back of your neck. It was a surprisingly nice kiss, though the laptops poked hard corners into you. He tasted faintly of Oreos and his hair was soft when you ran your hand through it.

When you pulled away, he leaned in to whisper in your ear. “I’m still having Steve Buscemi as my wedding picture.”

You laughed, pulling away. “Naturally. I’m keeping Peeta as my husband.”

Even so, he traced slow circles into your ankle for the rest of the time you worked, and he kissed you goodbye when you went home. The slideshow was for impossible dreams. Jared was your goal.


End file.
